Lubricating device.



T. J. CLAYTON.

LUBRICATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED Aue. 12. 1914.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

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LUBRlCATlNG DEVICE.

APPLICAT|ON FILED AUG-12| 1914. 1,154,095. PatentedSept. 21, 1915.

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Sipiieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

pplrctio'n led ugust 12, 1914'. Serial No. 856,358.

To all whom it mayl concern y Be it known that l, THOMAS J; CLAYTON, a citizen of the United States; residing at Port Arthur, in the county of Jefferson and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Lubricating Devices; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andeXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in thev art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to thev construction of lubricating devices for automatically and intermittently supplying a lubricant tdmoving parts of machinery, and is generally applicable. for such purposes', `but has' been especially devised by me for lubricating the flanges of locomotive' drivers', and consequently is hereinafter illustrated Vand described as so applied but without intention of limiting the invention thereto. y

As is' well understood by.v those skilled in the art, loss of power as wellas loss' by Wear of parts, incident to the friction of the moving: and co'-acting' mai-chine elem ents, are matters necessary to be overcome if good results and saving of expense are' desired, and nowhere is this more gravely the case'thaln in railway practice where preservation ofthe tread and wheel flanges of rolling stock is a matter .not only of economy but often of safety. It is also well understood that under such conditions' the lubricating. devices shouldbe simpleto insure ,their durability be. lubricated an,l automaticall v actuated 3 valve for intermittently.controllingthe flow of the lubricant through thelubricant conduit, and a steam` conduit which' incloses the lubricant conduit, and delivers-.thereinto at a point between the valve and the part to be lubricated to maintain the fluidity andv effect the proper feed and delivery of the lubricant. l v y, ,Y

There are other'feati'ires.l of.A invention involvingk particular combinations of elements, and particular features of elemental construction, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the drawing chosen for the purpose of illustrating my invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims, F igure 1 is a diagrammatic vievvof portions of a running board and portions of the front drivers of a locomotive, and, in perspective, the flange lubricator devices embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central sectional View of the lubricant conduit, the inclosing steam conduit, the valve casing, and in cross section the valve forgcontrolling the flow of the lubricant. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of `the lower ends of the lubricant and steam conduits and the valve casing taken at right angles to' the section in F ig, 2, the valve being shown in elevation with parts broken out. Fig. 4C is a sectional view of the lubricant delivery nozzle provided with a needle for clearing the nozzle when obstructed. Fig. 5 is a sectional detailwvievv of ka modified form of valve for intermittently controlling the flow ofthe lubricant.

`Like symbols refer to like parts Wherever they occur. i l

I will now proceed to describe my invention more fully so that others skilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same. Y n y, Y Y

In the drawings, Alindicates the runningboard` of a locomotive, a indicates the bottom line of the locomotive boiler, o a portion of the guide yoke, which is here selected as the point of support for the controllingvalve. and conduitsof the apparatus though if ldesired or required any other suitable pointv of support therefor may be selected. Y l I I B, B', respectively,,indicatevtheright and left front drivers of a locomotive to the ianges of which the lubricant is to be applied. g

,C ,indicates the lcylinder, Vvv the valve chest, and R the valve rodkon one side of a locomotive. n ,Y y Y f. A n I VA., suitab'le lubricant reservoirv l may be secured to the A underside of `the K running board A by straps l?, or in equivalent Inanner, from which reservoiry a lubricantlconduitY 2 leadsA the lubricant to. an intermittently operated valve 3 provided forkcontrolling the flow of the lubricant to the part to be .vlubricated, y Y A A m 4 indicates a steam conduit which may 'vided with a stuthno boX o receive its supply from any suitable source,

and wherever available for the purposev steam from an eXhaust may be utilized, as in this instance, where the steam may be taken from the exhaust of the air pump.A

which is a common and well knownY adjunct of locomotives, and being such is not here shown. rThrough an enlargement 4a of the vsteainconduit the lubricant conduit 2 passes i vrto the lubricant controlling valve 3, and this enlargement of the steam conduit is prefer ably formed of a top or cap member 5 pro- (or threaded. nipple, annular cap, and packing rings) through which the lubricaiitconduit passes,

mediate cylinder 4 or enlarged portion of the vconduit et which constitutes a steam chamber wherein the v'heat from the water of condensation and the exhaust steam will maintainthe fluidity of the lubricant so that any grade of oil from coal oil to asphaltum may be utilized. rlhe bottom member 7 which, as above noted', may also constitute the casing ofthe controlling valve is providedv with a port 8 leading` therethrough from the lubricant conduit to thel valve chamber 3 and a port 8a leading'from the valve chamber to the delivery Vchamber 3b,

"and said bottom inember'7 is secured by a threaded bolt or set screw 7C to a bracket 9 attached to the guide-yoke b, whichlatter has been selected as the point of support for the controlling valve and conduit.

The controlling valve 3 as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, is preferably a three-way valve of the rotary type having the Y shape through ports 10 which,when the valve 3 is at rest in its normal position in the valve chamber 3a of the casing,vv will preventthe simultaneous registration of the casing ports 8, 8a with a through passage of the valve ports' 10, as a result of vwhich the lubricant is intermittently delivered into the delivery chamber 3b whenthe valve isA operatingy and no delivery is made when the valve is at rest in its normal position.

`he same result may be obtained bythe useVV of a slide valve as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawing in which case the slide is prefer ably of cylindrical form as at S and is provided'with'the peripheral grooves s and s,

a', constituting valve ports which do not simultaneously register with the i ports of A'the valve casing when the valve is at rest in its normal position.

The end walls 7b of the valve chamber 3a which project laterally of the casing member 7 are threaded forthe reception of the end caps 1l, lla, one of which, ll''in the case of a rotary valve (see Fig. 3) and both of which in case of a slide valve (see Fig. 5) are perforated for the passage of the valve stem and suitable packing rings 11b are inserted in the end caps to eectively p ack the valves. It is also desirableY to provi-de a supplemental closure end capf 11C which may be carried by the closure end cap 11 (see Fig. 3), asA the saine will be found serviceable in case the casing ports 8, 8a should become clogged, whereupon the cut-off 18b will be turned to lclose conduit 18, vthe'perforated cap 11aY and valve 3 can be removed,-the supplemental cap 11C. substr' ftuted for annular cap 11a and steam pressure utilized to clear the ports of any obstruction. Y

n case a'rotary controlling valve is em-v ployed, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a crank arm l2 may be connected by means of rod 13 with some moving portion of the machinery, as for instance with a valve stem R or a rocker arm, to obtain an automatic` intermittent movement of the valve, and the connection should be so made that when the machine to which the lubricating devices are attached is at rest the controllingvalve 3' will be normally closed.

.Incase a slide valve S is used, as indicated :in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the connecting rod 13 may be Vmade to reciprocate the slide valve S through the medium of a rocker arm or lever 14 having its fulcrum on a bracket le secured 'to' the casing member 7, which lever 11i is pivotally connected with the stem of slide valve S.

From the portion 4a of the steam conduit which incloses the lubricant conduit 2 a contiiiuation of the steam conduit marked 15 leads down and delivers into the lubricant deliveryV chamber 3b below the controlling valve 3 and into which chamber 3b the lubricant enters from casing Aport 8a. The deliv- Very end ofconduit section 15 which enters ioo delivery chamber 3b is preferably in the forni of a jet 16, and the i which connects have its outer end closed by a screw plug 17 to` facilitate clearing of the Vjet should it.Y

Y Iroin any cause become clogged.

I 18 indicates a continuation of'the'lubri-` cant conduit which receives the lubricant I and' steam from the delivery chamberb and through the medium of T connection -18a and Ybranch pipes 19, 19@L delivers 'the spray of lubricant and steam throughv nozzles 20V to. vthe flanges 4of the drivers 13,13.

lAt 18b is shown a cut-offcock in conduit casing ports.

The nozzles 20 for jetting the lubricant on theY part to be 'lubricated maybe of any de!4 sired character, but preferably are, Yas indi-V iio `the sections '15 and 16 of the vconduit may cated in F ig. 4c, comprised of the nozzle sections 20, a T coupling 20b by means of which connection is made with conduit section 19 or 19a, and a perforated screw plug 20C which carries a spring-supported needle 2l centered in the nozzle and by pressure on which any plugging or obstruction of the nozzle can be displaced.

The operation of the foregoing devices will be found simple, effective, and auto matic, requiring no attention other than to fill the reservoir, when required.

1When the mechanism is at rest the valve 3 which controls the intermittent delivery of the lubricant will be normally closed; when the machine is in operation, the exhaust steam, or its equivalent, will pass by conduit t to conduit section la which incloses the lubricant conduit 2 and thence by conduit section 15 and jet 16 into delivery chamber 3b, and the valve 3 being simultaneously actuated from some movable portion of the mechanism, intermittently delivers the lubricant into delivery chamber 3", where it is taken up, sprayed and carried by the steam which enters said chamber from conduit section 1G, into conduit section 18, branches 19, 19a, and projected through nozzles 2O onto the flanges of the drivers B, B', or such portions of the machinery as are to be lubricated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a lubricating device, a lubricant conduit which leads to the part to be lubricated, an intermittently actuated valve which controls the ilow of the lubricant through the lubricant conduit, a. conduit for steam which incloses the lubricant conduit and delivers thcreinto at a point between the valve and the part to be lubricated, and means for operatively connecting the valve with a moving part of the machine.

2. In a lubricating device, the combination of a lubricant conduit, a valve casing having a valve chamber and a delivery chamber and provided with ports which connect the lubricant conduit with the valve chamber of the casing and the valve chamber with the delivery chamber thereof, a steam conduit which discharges into the delivery chamber of the casing, a valve having ports which alternately register with the port leading from the lubricant conduit to the valve chamber, and means for actuating the valve from a moving portion of the machine.

f 3. In a lubricating device, the combination of a lubricant conduit, a valve for intermittently controlling the iow of lubricant through the conduit, a valve casing having a valve chamber and a delivery chamber which connects therewith, a steam conduit which incloses the lubricant conduit and is provided with a jet which enters the delivery chamber of the valve casing, and means for operatively connecting the valve with a moving part of the machine.

4. In a lubricating device, the combination of a lubricating conduit which leads to the part to be lubricated, a valve casing interposed in the lubricating conduit, said valve casing provided with ports and having a valve chamber provided with end caps;

and a delivery chamber, a cut oii' cock interposed in the lubricant conduit between the valve casing and the point to be lubricated,` and a steam conduit having a jet which enters the delivery chamber of the valve casing.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMASv J. CLAYTON.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE J. MCCLELLAND, GEORGE LUDWIG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing che Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

